A Foreign Fan's Guide to the Partizan vs Red Star Derby in Belgrade

TL;DR: The Eternal Derby is genuinely one of the great atmospheres in world sport and, taken sensibly, genuinely visitable by a foreign fan. The two things that catch people out aren't safety — it's that you can't just turn up and buy a ticket on the door, and Serbia isn't in the EU or Schengen, so check entry requirements before you book.

Why This Fixture Is Worth the Trip

Partizan and Crvena Zvezda (Red Star) share the 20,094-seat Belgrade Arena and, between them, post two of the highest average attendances in world basketball — 19,916 and 17,842 respectively in the 2023-24 EuroLeague season, both well above 95% capacity. When they play each other, both sets of organized supporters (Partizan's Grobari, Red Star's Delije) fill the building with coordinated chants, flags and pyrotechnics from well before tip-off. Full attendance and financial detail is in Partizan vs Red Star: Turning a Belgrade Rivalry into Revenue.

Getting There

Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport is the main international gateway, with direct flights from most major Western European hubs. Serbia is not in the EU or the Schengen Area, so entry requirements are separate from a typical EU city break — most UK, EU and US passport holders can currently enter visa-free for short stays, but rules change, so check your own government's current travel advice before booking rather than assuming last year's rules still apply.

Buying a Ticket: The Part That Actually Trips People Up

This is the genuinely important practical point. Both clubs gate ticket access behind a paid club membership — Partizan's Članska Karta and Red Star's Članarina — which is a prerequisite for buying a season pass or getting priority access to individual EuroLeague tickets, not just a loyalty perk (full detail in the Partizan vs Red Star piece). For a one-off derby visit, that means starting the ticket-buying process well in advance through the club's own official site rather than expecting to walk up and buy one on the day — derby fixtures are also simply the hardest tickets of the season to get, given both arenas already run at 95%+ capacity for ordinary league games. See How to Buy EuroLeague Tickets for the general process, and Is EuroLeague Ticket Resale Safe? before buying from anyone other than the club directly.

Basic Common Sense, Not a Warning

None of this is a reason to be nervous about attending — hundreds of foreign fans make this trip every season specifically for the atmosphere. The standard advice that applies to any high-intensity European derby applies here too: sit in the section your ticket assigns you rather than trying to move into an ultras section uninvited, don't wear the colors of one club into the other's section, follow steward and police instructions without arguing, and travel to and from the arena in a group rather than alone late at night. Belgrade's organized supporter groups take their end of the arena seriously, but they are not looking for trouble with a visiting fan who's clearly there to watch the game.

When to Go

Partizan and Red Star typically meet at least twice a season in the domestic Serbian league plus however many times the EuroLeague schedule and Serbian Cup put them together — check both clubs' official fixture pages once the EuroLeague calendar is published, since exact derby dates aren't fixed year to year.

This piece is part of our ongoing NBA Europe vs EuroLeague business playbook. For where else in Europe is worth the trip, see The Best EuroLeague Cities to Visit for Basketball Atmosphere.

Sources: EuroLeague official attendance records, club ticketing and membership pages (Partizan, Crvena Zvezda). Visa and entry requirements change — always verify current rules with an official government source before travelling. Accurate as of September 22, 2026.